Mold for typographical machines



Nov. 1, 1932.

s. E. SPERRY 1,885,777

MOLD FOR TYPOGRAPHICAL MACHINES Filed Nov. 7, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet l VOA INVENTOR 661777016] S enn ATTORNEY Nov. 1, 1.932. S SPERM 1,85,???

MOLD FOR TYPOGRAPHICAL MACHINES Filed Nov. 7, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR ATTORNEY Patented Nov. 1, 1932 o sra es SAMUEL E. srnnnx; or HOLLIS, NEW YonK, ASSIGNOR '10 :rnrnn'rxrn conronArIoN, or 7 BROOKLYN, NEW YOR-K, A CORPORATION OF NEW? YORK V MOLD FOR TYPOGRAPHICAL MACHINES inU. S. Letters Patent No. a86,532 granted September 16, 1890, to O. Mergenthaler,

wherein a line of matrices is presented to the front of the mold. and the mouth-piece of a metal pot is brought against the back of the 10 mold and forces molten metal into the mold to cast a type bar or slug, after which an ejector is brought against the rear edge of the type bar and forces it from the mold.

The molds heretofore employed generally in machines of this class comprise a mold body and a mold cap which are bolted or otherwise held rigidly or immovably in relation to oneanother during thecasting of the type bar in the cavity between them and the ejection of the typebar from the mold cavity,

and in order to reduce the frictional orother resistance to the ejection of the type bar from the mold cavity, it has. been-customary to Y v of the mold in perspectlve; and

taper the casting faces ofthe mold and to provide grooves in one of the mold members which taper from front to back of the mold cavity, thus avoiding sticking of the type bar in the mold and providing sufficient draft to enable the ejector to overcome the friction as the type bar is moved forwardly through and from the mold cavity. 1

However, type bars cast in molds of that kind have bodies which are tapered in thickness, from front to back, and they have ribs projecting from a side thereof,and difficulties have been experienced in trimming such ribbed type bars to bring their opposite sides into exact parallelism, as is required to enable them to be made up in printing forms so that 4.0 they aline properly and allow the maximum lines of printed matter to be accommodated in a given space.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide an improved mold having parallel casting faces which enable the cast ingof type bars having parallel sides and without ribs, and means'for holding one of the mold members in place so that it may yield during ejection of the type bars and thereby relieve such parallel-sided ribless type bars cast in the mold from resistance to ejection and thus enabling such type bars to be easily ected from the mold, but holding such mold member firmly or substantially rigidly in place during the casting operation. To these and other ends, the invention consists in certain improvements and combina tions andarrangements of parts all as will be hereinafter more fully described, the features of novelty being pointed out particularly in the claims at the end of this specification.

' In the accompanying drawings Fig. 1 is a side elevation,partly in vertical section, of a typographical machine equipped with a mold embodying the present invention;

Fig. 2is a front elevation, on an enlarged scale, of the upper portion of the mold wheel, and the adjacent portion of the machine, showing the improved mold;

Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken on the line 33 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4: is a collective view showing elements Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 3, but on a reduced scale, showing another embodiment of the invention.

' Similar parts-are designated by the same reference characters in the diflerent figures.

The present invention is shown in the present instance applied to the casting mechanism of a typographical machine of the general class disclosed in the Mergenthaler patent hereinbefore referred to, 1 representing the main frame of the machine, 2 the mold wheel which is rotatably mounted by the pivot 3 on a slide 4, 5 represents the usual so-called first elevator which serves to lower a line of matrices M into position in front of a mold on the mold wheel and to remove the matrix line therefrom after a cast has been made, 6 represents a metal pot which may be of the usual construction containing a metal injecting plungerand a mouth-piece 7 which is movable into and out of contact with .the rear face of a mold on the mold wheel, the metal pot being pivoted on a horizon a1 axis 8 which is located substantially directly beneath the mold wheel so that the metal pot will swing forwardly and upwardly or into of the machine, and this main camshaft mayfunction, as is usual in machines of this class, to move the mold wheel 2 forwardly and retract it, proceeding and following respectively each casting operation, and to operate other parts of the casting mechanism as is usual and well understood so that further description thereof is deemed unnecessary. As'is usual in machines of this class,

the mold wheel 2 is rotatable on its'pivot 3, the mold in use being brought to position opposite to the mouth-piece of the metal pot prior to each casting operation and, following each casting operation, the mold wheel is rotated to carry such mold and the type bar cast therein to bring the same opposite to an ejector which is brought forward against the rear edge of the type bar in the mold and forces the type bar therefrom. Since the construction and operation of such an ejector is well understood in the art, illustration thereof is deemed unnecessary.

The improved mold, one or more of which may be mounted on the mold wheel 2, comprises a mold body 13 having tongues 14 proj ecting from its ends and fitting into grooves 15 in blocks 16 secured to the face of the mold wheel whereby the mold body is secured rigidly in fixed position thereon, and-a cooperating mold'cap 17 which is recessed on its underside to form the slot-like'cavity- 18 in which the type bars are cast, the mold cap 17 having tongues-19 projecting from its ends and movable vertically in the grooves 15 in the blocks 16 whereby themold cap is guided in its movements toward and from the mold body and is located in proper working position above the mold body. The mold cap 17 is held down yieldingly against the mold body by a'clamp plate 20 which bears against thecap at a plurality of points, preferably at the center and each end, it having bearing lugs 21 thereon at its center and ends for this purpose, and theselugs preferably rest in a groove 22 which extends longitudinally in the upper side of the mold in a position substantially midway between the front and rear faces of the mold. The clamp plate 20 has a bracket- 23 formed on or fixed to its rear side, this bracket containing a plunger 24 which extends through its: upper side and isfarranged to seat in a shallow recess 25 formed at the inner side of the rim of the mold wheel, and the bracket 23 also contains a spring. 26 one end of which bears against the plunger 24 and the other end of which is adapted to bear on the top of the mold cap 17 The clamp plate 20 may be inserted by placing the lugs 21 thereon in the groove 22 in the mold cap while the clamp plate is in tilted position and then swinging the clamp plate into upright position, this latter move ment of the clamp plate bringing the spring 26 to bear on the top of the mold cap and bringing the upper end of the plunger 24 into position to snap into the depression 25. The spring 26 is of only small strength since it is only required to hold the mold cap against the moldbody prior and subsequent to each casting operation, it allowing the mold ca to yield or move, away from the mold-body easily-and thus permit easyv ejectionof the type bar cast in the .mold! J The present invention provides means for firmly holdingthe mold cap against the. mold body during the casting operation, such means being operable by any suitable part on the machine which operates during the time the mold is in stationary casting position, such means, in the construction shown in Figs. 1 'to' 4 inclusive, being brought into operation automatically by the metal pot as the latter advances for the: casting operation. xAs shown, a plate or shield 27 is rigidly secured by screws or other suitable means to the arm 28 which forms a part of the stationary frame of the machine and this plate or shield has a housing 29 fixed by screws or other suitable means to the rear side .thereof, the housing having a vertical guideway 30in which a plunger '31 is arranged. to reciprocate, the lower'end' of this plunger being in a position to bear on the upper edge of the clamp plate 20, and the housing 29 contains a compression spring 32 and is provided with a pivot pin 33 arranged beneath the spring. A lever 34 is fulcrumed on the pivot pin 33, it having. a vertical slot 35 through which said pivot pin extends, and the spring 32 bears on the lever 34 above the pivot pin 33 and thereby yield in glv holds the lever inits lowermost position on thepivot pin. The forward end of the lever 34' isprovided with :1 lug 36 which fits into a recess 37 formed in the rear side of the plunger 31, and the rear end of the lever 34 carries a roller 38 which rests or rides on the top or cover of the metal pot, the pivot 39 for the roller 38 being preferably adjustable vertically relatively to the lever 34 by an adjusting screw 40.

1 The operation isbriefly as follows :Normally, the metal pot will be in retracted position as shown by the full lines in'Fi'g. 1 or the dotted lines in Fig. 3. and the mold wheel may be rotated to bring the mold in use into casting position, theplunger 31 being then in raised position so that it will not interfere with the movement of the clamp plate 20 into position beneath it. Share lowered a line of matrices M into posi- After the first elevator tion in front of the mold and the mold wheel moves forward to bring the front of the mold into engagement with the matrix line, as is usual in machines of this class, the metal pot 6 is swung forwardlyjand upwardly about its pivotal axis 8 into the full line position shown in Fig. 3 and in so doing, the roller 38 resting on the top or cover of the metal pot is lifted, thereby rocking the lever 34 about the pivot pin 33 and causing the plunger 31 tobe forced downwardly against the clamp plate 20 which bears on the mold cap and the mold cap will be thus held firmly against the mold body during the casting operation so that it will not be displaced by the pressure of the type metal injected into the mold by the metal pot. Up on completion of the casting operation, the metal pot swings rearwardlyand downwardly about its pivotal axis 8 or into the full line position shown in 1 and in so doing, the roller 33 resting on the top or cover of the metal pot is lowered, causing the lever 34 to rock on the pivot pin 33 in a direction to raise the plunger 31 so that it removes the pressure which it previously exerted on the clamp plate 20 and frees the latter for rotation. The mold wheel is then retracted to disengage the mold from the matrix line and is rotated to bring the mold and the type bar cast therein into ejecting position, and the ejector then operates in the usual manner to force-the type bar forwardly and out of the mold, after which the mold. wheel may return the mold to casting position for the performance of another casting operation.

By providing the, relatively light spring 26 to hold the'mold cap in place against the mold body, the ejection of the type bar from the mold may be accomplished easily, even though the'top and bottom walls of the mold cavity are parallel and ribless, since this relatively light spring will allow the mold cap to yield easily during the ejecting operation and thereby free the type bar of resistance to ejection. The provision of, the plunger 31 and lever 34 operated by the metal pot as the latter advances for the casting operation, to hold the mold cap in fixed relation to the mold body during the casting operation enables the mold cap to be held firmly in fixed relation to the mold body so as to resist the pressure of the type metal injected into the mold cavity during the casting operation but the release of such pressure after the casting operation avoids any interference thereby with the sub sequent ejection of the type bar.

By providing the lever 34h with the vertical slot 35 and the pressure spring 32 bearing on the lever to normally hold it in lowered position on the pivot pin 33,'variations' in the height of the top or cover of themetal pot will be compensated for so that the mold cap will be held against the mold body with sufficient pressure to sustain the pressure of the metal injected" into the mold cavity, the

spring 32 being of sufficient strength to withstand the pressure exerted within the mold cavity by the injected metal and which pressure tends to lift the mold cap. Excessive pressure of the metal poton the lever 34 will be compensated for by the yield of the spring 32, and further compensation for variation in the height of the metal pot is provided for by the adjustable mounting of the roller 38 in the rear end of the leve'r3 l.

Other means for operating the'mechanism herein described for holding 'the movable mold member positively closed during the stationary period of the mold at casting position are also contemplated. For example the movemerts to and fro of the metal pot are controlled by the cam 11 acting on the pot lever 10 and it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that the pot lever itself, or another cam, may be adapted or supplied to directly transmit motion to the mold closing device. Such a construction is illustrated in Fig. 5 wherein the structure shown is the same as that shown in Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive with the exception that the lever 34 used in place of the lever 34 extends further to the rear and its roller 38 traces the surface of a cam l1 added to the usualcam shaft of the machine and having a contour suitable for actuating the lever 3 a 'at the proper time when the mold has reached a stationary position before the metal pot and just prior to the casting of the slug. The invention is therefore not limited to the use of the movablemetal pot to transmit pressure to hold the mold cap closed during casting, but comprehends the use for such purpose of any equivalent means or part of the machine whose movement bears the proper timed relation to the stationary position of the mold during the casting period. I

By applying the pressure to hold the mold cap closed after the mold has reached its stationary casting position, at which time the mold wheel has advanced to its full lockup position and the usual mold wheel looking studs are fully engaged in the stud blocks on the vise frame, the downward thrust on the mold wheel resulting from the pressure thus applied to the mold cap will not interfere with the proper engagement of such studs and stud blocks, as would be likely to occur if such pressure were applied before the full advance of the mold wheel to lock-up position and the full engagement of the mold wheel locking studs in L tion maintains the parts of the mold in proper position while the type bar is being cast therein, but since such holding means is released before the mold reaches e ectlng position, the mold cap being then held against the mold body merely by a relatively light pressure, the type bar may be easily ejected from the mold although the walls of the mold cavity are parallel in all directions and without theiusual bevelled or tapered ribs, and since the typebar cast in such a mold will be ribless, the opposed side faces will already be parallel and the slug will notrequire trims ming to assure exact size as in the case of the usual ribbed slugs, and the usual trimming knives, between which the slug passes at the point of ejection, will only be required to shave oil the small fins or irregularities which sometimes occur as slight projections or overhang alon the character bearing edge.

I claim as'my invention 1. In typographical machine having a mold movable to and from a stationary casting position and closed by relatively movable parts presenting parallel faces for casting parallel-sided slugs, means for holding said mold parts yieldingly in closed cooperative relation while the mold is out of casting position, and means operative while themold is in stationary casting position to hold said mold parts firmly in closed casting relation.

2. In a typographical machine having'a mold movable to and from a stationary casting position and closed by relatively movable parts presenting paral el faces for casting parallel-sided slugs, means for applying pressure to hold said mold parts yieldingly in closed cooperative relation While the mold is in and out of casting position, and means operative while the mold is in stationary casting position to apply increased pressure to hold said parts of the mold firmly in closed casting relation.

3. In a typographical machine having a mold closed by relatively movable parts presenting parallel faces for casting parallelsided slugs, means always acting to hold said mold parts yieldingly in closed cooperative relation, and a metal potmovable toward and from casting position relatively to the mold, a member mounted to bear against a part of the mold to hold it infirm closed relation with a cooperating part of the mold, and means operative during the movement of the metal pot toward casting position to actuate said member. i

4. In a typographical machine having a mold composed of opposed relatively movable c-losing members forming a cavity pres seating parallel faces for casting parallelsided slugs between them, means always acting to h old said mold members yieldingly in closed cooperative relation; and a metal pot movable to and from casting position relatively to the mold for injecting metal into the cavity thereof, means actuated by the movement of the metal pot toward casting pos1t1on for holding one of said mold memhere firmly closed against the other mold member and rendered inoperative by movement of the metal pot from casting pos1t10n.

5; In a typographical machine having a mold composed of relatively movable closing members, means always acting to hold said mold members yieldingly in. closed cooperative relation, anda metal, pot movable into casting position forinjecting metal intov the mold, means actuated yieldingly by the movementof the metal pot toward casting position for'holding said mold members in fixed closed relationship;

6.:In a typographical machine having a mold composed of opposed closing members one of which is movable toward and from the other, m'eansnormally holding said movable'member yieldingly in closed cooperative relation with the other member, and a metal pot movable to and from castingposition relatively to the mold, a plunger arranged to'act on said holding means, and a lever acted on at one end by the metal pot during its movement toward casting positionand acting at its other end on said plunger to force said holding means and movable mold member fixedly against the other mold member.

7. In a typographical machine having a mold composed of opposed members one of which is'movable toward and from the other, and metal pot movable to and from casting position relatively to the mold, a plunger arranged to act on the movable mold member, lever having a part engaged by the metal pot and movable thereby during its movement toward casting position and hav ing another part engaging said plunger to force it against the movable mold'member, and a yielding fulcrum for said lever.

8. In a typographical machine, a mold wheel having a mold'composed of relatively movable members mounted therein and having a rim portion opposite to the mold, and a mold clamp plate removably'mounted on the mold wheel, an edge of said plate bearing on one of the mold members and said plate carrying a spring and a plunger actuated thereby movable into position between the mold and said rim portion of the mold wheel, the spring being arranged to bear on the adjacent mold member and theplunger being arranged to bear on said rim port-ion.

9. In a typographical machine, a mold wheel carrying a mold embodying relatively movable members and having a rim portion op osite to the adjacent mold member, the latter mold member having a recess in its outer side, a clamp plate having an edge to engage in said recess and tiltable into position against the face of the mold wheel, and yieldable means carried by said plate and movable into osition between and into cooperation with said rim portion and the adjacent mold member 7 In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

SAMUEL E. SPERRY. 

